Apart from public humiliation, their handcuffing may have been motivated by a desire to send a warning to the media whose reports have caused acute embarrassment to the state government in general and the police in particular in the last few days.

A juridical person can sue and be sued. It is for the Centre and the states and peoples to study the legal and political implications of the Uttarakhand court order and take remedial action if their interests are adversely affected.